All's well...

So, apparently I waited waaay too long to write this blog. I don’t even know where to start.

Science Fair. My school’s science fair came and went and was a complete success. I had 7 participants, 3 judges, 2 counterparts, and a lot of fun. All of the kids that participated really got into the spirit of science and exceeded my expectations. Some of their projects were: testing different soils, dissolving Styrofoam into different kinds of fuel to make glue, using citrus to power a lightbulb, making different kinds of ointments, learning how to emit radiowaves using local materials, and learning the best way to start a fire without using matches. I had two neighboring volunteers come in to guest judge as well as one of my school’s directors. Two of my students won (I had absolutely no say in that!!!) and we are in Nampula at regionals as you’re reading!!! Anyway, some things that I will work hard to improve next year are: increasing the number of participants and improving community involvement.

Travelling. Since I was fortunate enough to get placed in such a gorgeous country, this is ALWAYS a highlight. During the break between 2nd and 3rd trimesters, I had a chance to head to Ilha de Mozambique and Pemba. They are both insanely beautiful beaches, and paired together with great company, turned out to be one of the greatest times in my service so far. Being the only people on the beach as far as you can see each way, reading books, eating delicious seafood, cold beers…let me tell you, life in the Peace Corps is tough.

Esther. Esther had the nerve to leave me for 2 weeks so she could meet her sister in Barcelona. Seeing as how I have only cooked about 3 meals beginning to end, I was worried about how I might survive without her. Luckily, a lot of my travelling was during that time, so I really only spent 3 nights home by myself. After a disastrous first meal, I still don’t get how I messed up boiling eggs, I figured it couldn’t get any worse. I sucked it up and attempted to make Mexican rice and I succeeded!!! Okay, the texture wasn’t all that, but the flavor was definitely on point…Mom, you can be proud. Anyway, one important thing I did while I was in Pemba was pick Esther up from the airport. Her sister was nice enough to cart a million requests from LA to Barcelona, so saying Esther had tons of baggage to bring home is an understatement. Among all the goodies (countless tv shows, movies, snacks, etc.) was a new camera (loaded with pics from home), external hard drive and stick of deodorant for me, jackpot.

Volleyball. I remember writing a long time ago about getting staff volleyball games going…well, it is finally happening! I’m super excited, minus our practices are at 5am on Saturdays. Crazy people.

December. Not only does December mean that my first year of teaching is over as well as half of my Peace Corps service, December means I get to see my Mom and Marti!!!! Wooo hooo!!!! They have booked their tickets and are my inspiration for pushing through the hard work.

Rats/Bats. Esther and I always knew we had a rat, but after our first big catch we figured our problem was over…so wrong. We have now caught 5 rats, and aren’t seeing an end in sight. Not good. We also used to get about 1 bat in the house each week, but then it kind of slowed down. Well, I’ve been waking up the past few nights hearing and seeing them flying around. I can’t tell if it’s a hallucination or not (side effect of the malaria meds), but I swear one is living under my bed. Also, not good.

Anyway, life is great over here in Moz, just miss the heck out of you all back home. Hope everything is amazing. Keep the emails coming, they are always highlights of my days.

<3 Von